


Split

by M_Logolepsy



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Abuse Relationship, Crystal Grumps, Dark!Jon, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Game Grumps AU, Gen, I love Jon but this is soooo much more interesting to write honestly, M/M, Multi, Other, Steven Universe - Freeform, tags to be added as story updates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:18:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Logolepsy/pseuds/M_Logolepsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon. Suzy. Jon? No, Suzy. But, Jon? Goddammit, why not both?</p>
<p>In which Arin is struck with a difficult decision- to do what he's meant to to stay beside Jon, or to betray Jon to save Suzy?  </p>
<p>(Begins in Pre War Homeworld)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first fic on here. Awesome! It's rough, as I wrote it while concussed and have yet to edit, but I wanted to get it out there. It is still a work in progress, so we'll see where it goes.
> 
> Like this? Yell at me at fricknerd.tumblr.com. 
> 
> Also, as much as I like Jon, dark!Jon is way more fun to write.

_Jon. Suzy. Jon? No, Suzy. But, Jon? Goddammit, why not both?_

Arin really should’ve known better, honestly. Suzy was a fusion experiment, created as a weapon and nothing more. He had worked on her from the very beginning. He was a scientist and she was his subject, and that was supposed to be it.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t very professional.

When he was leaving work for the day, to meet Jon of all people, he had heard her crying. Of _course_ it caught his attention. Seriously, how could it have not? The gem warrior they had built was flawless. Strong, fast, and ruthless, she could destroy any rebellious gem in her path. A gem like that didn’t have emotions. Right?

He quickly learned he was very, very wrong. He entered her room, a plain and empty holding cell that hadn’t needed to have the mechanism that would forcibly keep the gem fusion inside in centuries, and looked curiously at the other gem. When she had spotted him, she backed away, pressing her back against the wall opposite him and wiping her tears. “I wasn’t crying,” She told him. “Please don’t punish me.”

“Pun- what?” Arin was extremely confused. “Why would I do that?” 

Suzy studied him for several moments, before saying, “You’re not usually working here during the nights.”

“Well, not on your project. No one should be until the next work cycle.”

Confusion flashed in her eyes. “What? No, there are gems here every night. After testing comes conditioning.”

“I… What?” The scientist questioned. “Is that why you were crying? Do they hurt you?”

Suzy glared at him, before noticing that he was sincere. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“No, I swear. Why…?”

“They do hurt me, but that’s not why I was crying. I just…” Suzy touched her hand to her gem, tracing a finger across the jagged line that divides the two gem shards that compose her being. Arin almost missed what she whispered.

“I don’t remember their names.”

“The… The gems that make you up’s names, you mean?”  Arin asked in a soft voice.

Suzy nodded as a few stray tears dripped down her face. “I don’t know how they were anymore. They’re just… I don’t know, distant memories? An empty laugh, a face I can’t place? I don’t even know my real gemstone. I’m just… Nothing.”

Arin moved slowly towards her. She moved into a defensive position, but Arin raised his arms in a show of peace. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just… I don’t know, can you trust me please?” 

After a long, tense moment, Suzy nodded. Arin knelt beside her before pulling her close to him and wrapping her arms around her. “You’re not nothing, Suzy. You’re a whole new gem, and you get to decide who you are. Whoever these two gems are, if they could see you, they’d be proud of what they created.”

“I’m a monster,” She whispered. “I’m just a weapon.”

“No you aren’t,” Arin promised her. “You are a gem and you can define yourself. I’m sorry that you’ve been hurt by the gems who are meant to make sure you come into the world safely, but I’m going to put a stop to it. You’re a being, not a weapon. I think… I think this is wrong. I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”

Suzy nodded, leaning into his shoulder and crying. “Thank you.”

Arin had smiled then, full of confidence.

He wonders, now, if Suzy had seen his naivety. He had seen his peers, his Homeworld, as a place that cared about the gems that lived there. He was so very wrong. When he met Jon later that night, he learned the hard way.

“You’re late,” The diamond had pointed out when Arin had made it to their meeting spot.

“Something came up at the lab,” He told Jon. “Speaking of which… I don’t think I… like, what’s happening there.”

Jon had smiled, but it was out of amusement. “You don’t like it? Why not?

Arin had paused then, losing confidence, but continued on for Suzy. “The fusion experiment… Suzy, she’s being conditioned. They’re hurting her for no reason, and she thinks she’s some kind of-”

“Monster? Arin, it _is_ a monster. It’s just a weapon. Creatures like that are soldiers. They aren’t like us. I thought you got that. That’s why I put you on this project, Arin. If you don’t, well…” Jon told him. Despite his seemingly nonchalant behavior, Arin knew the look in his eyes. He was planning something.

“No, Jon, I- _Blue Diamond_ , I can handle this. I promise you, I can, I understand,” Arin told him.

A smile spread across the gem’s face. “Good! I knew you would,” He declared, putting a hand on his cheek, taking the hand with Arin’s gem on it in his own hand, and holding him close. Arin felt so small next to him, when they were like this. Jon could squeeze his hand at any moment and crush his gem, turning him to shards in seconds, but he didn’t. It was just as reassuring as it was nauseating. He felt safe and on the brink of destruction all at once.

Arin loved it.

But, in the back of his mind, he remembered Suzy, and how he had held her. It felt like he had betrayed Jon, thinking of someone else when he was in the diamond’s presence, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had failed her. Would she be punished for this? For telling him the truth? Would Jon tell the people that were ‘conditioning’ (a word that sounds too standard and normal for what it entailed, Arin thought) her to punish her for this? He didn’t know, but he wouldn’t forget her.

He was going to do something about this. Even if it meant going against his peers and his Homeworld. Even if it meant disobeying Jon.

Arin remembered how long it had taken for him to come to where he was now. He had snuck out to see Suzy more often than not. For the first time in his life, he listen to the whispers of rebellion that seemed to come from everywhere. He had never consider any of this before, but... Suzy was so, so worth it. She deserved this chance to be someone that she could love as much as Arin had begun to love her.

It was doomed to fall to shit at some point, Arin supposed.

It had been at a meeting with the diamond authority. Arin had been invited by Jon as his guest, of sorts. The diamonds wanted a report on how the fusion experiments were progressing, and Arin had to be the one to explain it. He had been so, so careful in his proceedings with Suzy, but…

“We need to push the two successful fusion experiments into the next stage. They should be into the field by now. Their conditioning needs to be handled better. Punishments should be more severe. They should be able to integrate into society and go on missions sooner rather than later,” Felix, Yellow Diamond, decided.

Arin lost himself for a moment. Suzy was going to be hurt. They were going to manipulate her in front of his eyes and then send her away, probably to never be seen again. She was going to-

“No.”

Suddenly, all four diamonds were focused on the gem. If Arin had felt small before, it was nothing compared to this.

“ _What_ did you say?” Jon asked, his hand curling around the hand that Arin’s gem was on.

“I said no,” Arin replied, voice shaking. “You can’t do that to her. I won’t let you.”

The orange diamond, Barry, was staring intently at him. Arin didn’t notice. “You won’t let us? Arin, this is your homeworld. Would you really go against it all for her?”

Arin opened his mouth and closed it again, not sure what to say.

“Would you go against me for her?”

Fuck.

“Jon, I-”

Jon’s eyes darkened, and suddenly, the hand that had so often held his closed around his gem, cracking it.

Arin gasped and fell to his knees. He was going to die.

And then… He didn’t.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin meets Holly, Barry, and a big blue world.

The next thing he knew, he was somewhere warm. 

“Arin…? Are you awake?” A kind voice asked.

Arin didn’t particularly want to open his eyes. Instead, he stretched his fingers and toes, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed so warm, the heat wrapping around him in a way that was so unlike anything he’d experienced before. Despite the strangeness, it wasn’t necessarily unpleasant. His gem felt strong, even though it had-

Oh. 

Finally, he opened his eyes. His gaze shifted to the pink gem that was set in his hand. It was whole, glittering in the dim light that was filtering around him. Was the whole encounter that he was remembering just a dream? Just some weird hallucination? He wasn’t exactly sure, but he did know that he was somewhere entirely new to him. After a hazy minded moment, he realized that he wasn’t alone in that new place. Another pink gem was looming above him, form obscured slightly by the substance that surronded him. 

“Oh! It worked!” The gem called, sounding farther away than she looked. 

Arin reached out a hand, trying to reach out to her. The material that surrounded him slipped away from his hand then, leaving it cooler that it had been a moment prior. Mystified, Arin sat up. The substance dripped off of him, leaving him bizarrely shiney. 

“You haven’t seen water before, have you?” The stranger mused. 

“Where- Who- what?” Arin stuttered. Where he was now contrasted in every way to where he was last. Here, it was dim, quiet, and warm. Besides the strange structure filled with what the stranger had called water, the room had several large chairs and couches, as well as a soft-looking pink rug. It seemed cozy and safe, unlike the diamond base. The light there was harsh, much like every aspect of the space. Absolutely everything about the diamonds’ chosen meeting space screamed elegance and prestige. Arin hated it. Not only did it make him feel inferior, but it brought out a side to Jon that Arin normally pretended wasn’t there. When Jon acted like the other diamonds- cold, analytic,  _ perfect _ \- Arin saw him of being capable of anything. It was like he wouldn’t hesitate to shatter any gem that defied him, no matter who- oh. “My gem… My  _ diamond _ , Jon, oh no, I-” 

The new gem’s hands rose as if she was about to comfort him-  _ Don’t touch me don’t touch me I’m a traitor don’t _ \-- before they dropped back to her side. “It’s alright, no one’s upset with you, I promise. Jon- Blue Diamond, made sure your gem was repaired. Of course, he did the damage in the first place, so it was the least he could do. I mean, shattering someone in such an intimate way, the  _ NERVE  _ of some gems!” 

“Jon isn’t some gem,” Arin snapped, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks at the mention of the way Jon had broken him. “He’s Blue  _ Diamond _ , not some random stone.” 

“Just because he’s-” The gem stopped herself, brushing a strand of pastel pink hair away from her face and fluttering her wings of the same color in an almost huffy fashion. “I’m sorry, you don’t even know where you are. I’m Commander Holly, and this is what we call Sanctuary. This healing fountain fixed your gem after Barry brought you in. I wasn’t really sure you’d… Anyways, if you’re healed, Bar would probably wanna talk to you.”

Arin had heard that name before. It was one that Jon always mentioned when there was an important meeting, or some other reason that he had to leave Arin as the sun rose on Homeworld. “Barry? As in-” 

“Yeah, I know, but he doesn’t like to go by that. Come on, I’ll show you to where he is.”

Holly led the way out of the sanctuary into… well, whatever this place was. Glass walls formed the building, which was structured in a dome shape. Dozens of gems worked around him on seperate screens and devices, their work lit by the sunlight coming from above them. And wow, the view above them…! Arin had never seen so much blue in his life. They must be outside on some planet, but Arin didn’t think it was Homeworld. He must’ve gone through a warp at some point. The realization should’ve been more concerning, he thinks, but he was much more concerned with  _ why _ anyone would go through this much trouble just to save him. One gem was not worth all this, especially not Arin, a traitor to his diamond and his world. As soon as the statement crossed his mind, he remembered that not even a cycle ago, he had been asking himself why anyone wouldn’t go through all of the trouble in the world to save Suzy. 

_ Suzy _ . 

Where was she, now that Arin had so clumsily ruined any chance she had of being treated better? Had they sent her to another world, like they had Arin? Is she fighting for herself, or is she fighting to obey some commander in a battle she doesn’t want to be anywhere near? He didn’t even get to tell her that he found their names. Suzy stood for the two names, in fact- Sunshine and Zyanne composed her being. It was too late, though. She was gone. He would never see her again.

That realization hurt more than being shattered. 

Holly opened a set of double doors out to the balcony area to where a large, orange gem was waiting. He had his back to the pair, choosing to instead gaze out at the view in front of him. Arin could see why. In front of him, a river crashed over the edge of a mountain, creating a spectacular show as it fell down into the lake below. They must’ve been on a cliffside as well, as the ground below them was so, so far below, not to mention how covered in green it was. Arin had never seen a place so vibrant and wonderful as the world around him. Mystified, he moved towards the railing of the balcony, taking in everything he could see. 

“I’ll let you two figure stuff out,” Holly said before closing the double doors behind them. 

After a long, comfortable silence, Barry spoke up. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Arin knew he was probably being disrespectful to the diamond by not addressing him properly, but the  _ view,  _ and he had so many questions… He hoped the diamond wouldn’t mind. “Where are we?” 

“Welcome to Earth, Arin.” 

“Earth…” Arin rolled the name around in his mouth, remembering the small, blue-green planet filled with organic life that was on Homeworld’s star maps. He had never been there before, but he had studied a few life forms from it in his lab. He understood, now, why none of them survived on Homeworld; Earth was filled with oxygen, but Homeworld’s atmosphere held almost entirely hydrogen. They couldn’t breathe. He was getting off topic, he realized. “Why am I here?” 

“You needed the Sanctuary.”

“There are healers on Homeworld.” 

Barry grinned. “You’re right. You need space from Jon if you’re ever going to recover from this, in all honesty.” 

“But I’m already healed,” Arin told him. “My gem’s fixed.” 

“That’s not what I meant. Though, I did station you here for another reason. Earth isn’t very important to Homeworld, but to us here… It’s not exactly just another resource hub or a kindergarten site,” Barry told him. 

“You don’t agree with Homeworld? But…” Arin questioned. These gems seemed so strange to him. 

“You’ll figure out soon enough that we run things differently around here. The point is, I want you to study this planet and the projects that we have operating here, and in a year or two, I’m going to give you an option. Until then, enjoy it here, and if you have any questions, come to me,” Barry explained. 

Arin nodded and thanked Barry for the assignment, as was customary. Barry showed a strange discomfort with the thanks, but Arin chose to ignore it. “Is it okay if I ask you something?”

“Of course. What’s on your mind?” 

Arin turned away from the beautiful view in front of him to look at Barry. “There’s a gem… I mean, a gem experiment back on Homeworld that I really need to know about. She’s… Can you find out if she’s okay?” 

“Suzy, you mean?” Barry asked, continuing once Arin nodded his confirmation. “I saw to it myself that she was treated right and stationed somewhere that she’d be safe. I have to keep her placement a secret now, even from you, as she’s still at risk. Don’t worry about her. She’s in very good hands.” 

Arin felt like a weight had been taken off of him. “Thank you so much. I just… I care about her a lot, you know?” 

“It’s a bit obvious,” Barry laughed. “She’s closer than you think, Arin. Go and study whatever you find interesting. I’ll check up on you later.” 

Arin nodded, leaving the balcony area. As he walked out the double doors, he spotted Holly with a group of new recruits. In passing, he spotted an all too familiar strand of blonde hair and a glint of something shiny and green. He turned to look back, but by the time he did, the group was gone; Holly had led them into a different room. 

_ She’s closer than you think, Arin. _

The pink gem wondered just how close she was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on Crystal Grumps: a change of pace
> 
> "You must be one of the new gems assigned here," Holly realized. "What's your name?" 
> 
> The green gem introduced herself, extending her hand. 
> 
> "My name's Suzy."


End file.
